Thursday, November 3, 2011

Obama Administration supports Boondoggle Bridge? Not really

This is the $700 million monstrosity proposed to be built just 6 miles north of the eight-lane I-94 bridge at Lakeland-Hudson.

By Karl Bremer

The way the lobbyists for the bridge across the St.
Croix River are portraying recent
comments from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, you’d think President Obama has given his personal
stamp of approval to the $700 million Bachmann-Klobuchar-DaytonBoondoggleBridge.

“Oak Park Heights City Councilmember Mary McComber spoke
with LaHood and White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley about the St. Croix River
Crossing during a briefing for city and municipal leaders held at the White
House on Thursday, October 27. McComber was invited in her capacity as incoming
chair of the Regional Development Committee of the National League of Cities.

“In response to a question from McComber during his
presentation to the group, LaHood said that President Obama and his
administration are well aware of the St. Croix River Crossing and are committed
to getting it done.

“Secretary LaHood said, ‘I know about your project. I know
what the problem is. I am committed to getting it done. The President is
committed to getting it done,’” McComber stated.”

So is that project that he’s committed to getting done the
Coalition’s $700 million, 65-mph, four-lane freeway version of the bridge? Not
necessarily.

Ripple in Stillwater
contacted McComber and asked her to clarify her statement—specifically, whether
LaHood was referring to the Coalition’s bridge proposal.

“What Ray LaHood said was that the
Obama Administration is committed to getting this project solved, but totally
legally—and he kept referring back to this—within the law,” McComber said.

LaHood did not say he or Obama
supported an exemption from the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act to get the bridge
built, and did not express support for any specific bridge proposal, McComber
said. There was some discussion about the need to streamline federal approval
processes for infrastructure projects when multiple agencies are involved, said
McComber, but there was no talk about including an exemption from the Act in a “streamlining” of the process to get the St. Croix bridge
problem resolved.

The Administration’s support was “more
just to get it off people’s plate,” McComber noted.

The Obama Administration on
November 1 released a list of 14 infrastructure projects that it said “will
be expedited through permitting and environmental review processes” in order to
move them “as quickly as possible from the drawing board to completion” and
create jobs.

There are two bridge projects on that list, but the St.
Croix bridge is not one of them.

Once again, the Boondoggle Bridge Coalition appears to be
playing loose with the facts, and their strategy worked with some in the media..

Stillwater loses battle over $80,000

TIF donation to bridge
lobbyists

Meanwhile, in other BoondoggleBridge news, the City of Stillwater
decided to cut their losses and return to WashingtonCounty the $80,000 in tax-increment
finance (TIF) funds the state auditor ruled they had illegally donated to the
Coalition. The city stands to lose half of those funds because of their
misappropriation of them to the bridge lobbying group, which Stillwater Mayor
Ken Harycki co-chairs.

The state auditor's ruling was in response to complaints filed by myself and Stillwater historian Don Empson.

Stillwater City Attorney Dave Magnuson

refuses to admit he was wrong.

Not content with having his dubious legal opinions repeatedly
called into question by the Office of State Auditor in its reports on the
matter, Stillwater City Attorney Dave Magnuson accused the auditor’s office of
playing politics with its decision. He was joined by City Council member Jim
Roush, who the Star-Tribune reported opined in an Oct. 31 council meeting on
the matter: “I
think their office is out of control and has exceeded their authority.”

Said council member Micky Cook, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press: “I think we just need to suck it up, unless we want to get
slapped around some more.”

Roush told the Star-Tribune’s Kevin Giles after the meeting
that the auditor’s ruling was “politically motivated” but Roush declined to
elaborate.

State Auditor Rebecca Otto responded that Roush’s
comments were “a little bit like blaming the dentist for a cavity in your
mouth.”

14 comments:

This proposal is the most scenic and beautiful bridge I have ever seen. Just think of the jobs and development that will boost the East Metro and it's economy. It is mind-boggling to suggest any resistance to this project could be successful. What are they thinking? Bill

Just think of how building a more appropriate sized bridge would get the job done, still bring jobs and support the local community and still have enough money left over to fix a few more bridges. It is mind boggling to suggest any resistance to this project could be UN-successful. What are they thinking, Bill?

This bloated, expensive bridge is too much at this time. Its scale doesn't make sense, and it won't bring jobs to locals--it'll be bid out internationally. Wouldn't something smaller make more sense? A smaller bridge means less noise and light pollution for those of us who live nearby. The "Sensible Bridge" solution truly seems to better suit our needs in Stillwater, and would not require opening the Pandora's box of overriding the Wild and Scenic River Act.

Ripple in Stillwater

Ripple in Stillwater is the sole creation of Stillwater, Minnesota, writer Karl Bremer. It covers whatever captures the author's muse at the moment. You can reach Ripple in Stillwater at saintcroix-at-aol-dot-com, or you can follow me on Twitter @kdbremer. If you're wondering about the name of this blog, go here.

Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists 2011 Page One Award Winner

Ripple in Stillwater author Karl Bremer won Second Place in the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists 2011 Page One Awards for "Best Use of Public Records."

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